Love amidst War
by opalove
Summary: War Hero of the Month: Severus Snape. Find tidbits, gossips, history and backstory of one of the most mysterious and influential Wizard, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, Severus Snape. We could gather only a small amount of information (after several months of effort on Darkest Wizard Alive), and it is all available in this month's issue of Daily Prophet's War Hero of the Month


**Daily Prophet:**

 **War Hero of the Month: SEVERUS SNAPE**

At 38, Severus Snape is the youngest headmaster Hogwarts had ever seen. But that, my dear readers, is the least of his achievements.

He began his career as the potions master of Hogwarts at the age of 21, making him the youngest professor Hogwarts had ever seen. Subsequently, he worked under his mentor, the Greatest Wizard of the Century, Albus Dumbledore for nearly two decades.

The previous year he was appointed as the professor for Defence Against the Darks Arts, a position which he had coveted for a long time, when Horace Slughorn had returned to take up his previous position as the school's potion master.

After a short stint in his new post, he quit in the most dramatic way possible: by killing the previous headmaster, Dumbledore, and walking calmly out of the school grounds.

In a surprising twist, this year we saw Severus Snape succeeding his mentor as the new Headmaster of the Hogwarts.

However, after the end of Second Wizarding War, it was revealed that the murder was orchestrated by Dumbledore himself and executed by Snape only on his orders. Rumours have that the old wizard was already dying due to a terrible curse that had his right hand completely charred when he had asked his protégé to grant him a painless and peaceful death.

Can't blame the old man! After all, who wouldn't want a peaceful afterlife after living through two traumatic Wizarding Wars? What is most surprising, however, is that the Man of Light, Albus Dumbledore, chose the Darkest Wizard Alive (Severus Snape ranks second to the Dark Lord on the list of Darkest Wizards ever) not only to succeed him, but also to carry out his mission.

Yes, it has been revealed that Headmaster Snape actively worked through both the Wizarding Wars as a double agent. He pretended to spy on Dumbledore, while working for the Dark Lord when he was actually working under Dumbledore and spied on the Dark Lord. As mind boggling as it sounds, the wizard executed it so well that there was nary a doubt on the dark side until the very fall of it.

Being a master Occlumens, he is accomplished enough to fool the Dark Lord who is regarded as a master Legilimens. Imagine fooling the Darkest Wizard Ever on a daily basis and fooling him so well that he believed Snape to be his most loyal vassal and right-hand man.

 **This, dear readers, is Severus Snape's biggest achievement: walking the thin line between the dark and light with all the grace of an elite warlock.**

The Wizengamot judgment issued in the trial that was held following the Second Wizarding war describes him as "A conundrum to the warlocks in Wizengamot for the wizard has meddled and meandered in the path of dark arts too much to be considered a 'light' wizard, yet he chose and worked for the side of the light consistently till the very end without betraying or harming anyone for nearly two decades."

The Wizengamot acquitted him of all charges at the end of the trial, stating, "The Wizengamot is still not able to completely understand where his loyalties lie. If Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the century, chose to trust the man in question with both his life and death, we would also will place our trust in this man. Thank you Severus Snape for all your continued efforts, dedication, and work towards the cause of the light throughout the two Wizarding Wars. We would like to honour Severus Snape's contribution with Order of Merlin, First Class."

Unfortunately, our hero of the month isn't with impressed with the shiny medal they bequeathed him with and therefore uses it as a paperweight.

A master and connoisseur of dark arts and curses, there is no one alive who can practice or appreciate dark arts at its best. He is the only other wizard apart from You-Know-Who can fly without any aid or magical being.

According to our sources, we believe that he became a Death Eater at the age of 17 making him the youngest in the brood to achieve the status, and he immediately became the Dark Lord's favourite vassal. His knowledge and expertise alone has earned him the second spot in the 'Darkest Wizards Ever' list pushing Grindelwald to the third place, even though he has never participated in any of the Muggle torture, killings, or mass murdering.

He is a master spell worker who has created numerous spells and curses. His signature move is a curse that leaves the victims to bleed and die a gruesome death, and the only one knows the counter curse is he himself. It has been a widely acknowledged fact that he is very quick to anger, slow to forgive and prone to hold lifelong grudges. So here's a tip, never ever anger the wizard unless you want to die a bloody death.

It is not just his skills with dark arts that make him an accomplished wizard. He is also regarded as the finest potioneer ever seen. Horace Slughorn, the potions master laughingly admits that his ex-student's reputation and skills by far exceeds his own and it's no wonder that Snape has usurped the title from him. He says, "Snape is very instinctive and creative when he creates a potion. He has never followed the rules for making potions instead always choosing to tweak and twist the methods to produce the best outcomes with minimum efforts." No wonder he became the potions master at Hogwarts at the young age of 21.

If there's one field where Severus Snape has shown average capacity, it is teaching. Not that he is bad at teaching ─ in fact, many of the students credit him to be an effective teacher ─ it is just that his tendency to be a taskmaster with zero-tolerance for idiocy is not welcomed by his students.

He has scared and terrified his students so much so that the stern and strict ways of Minerva McGonagall is a mere spark compared to the inferno of his rage.

Besides, his partiality with the Slytherins did not sit well with students of other houses. He turned a blind eye to the shenanigans of the students of his house while docked enormous points for the meagre transgressions of students from other houses. Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin is what we can conclude from this.

Given his tendency to favour Slytherins, we believed that he would be the next Phineas Nigellus when he became the headmaster. However, until the end of the war, Hogwarts was nothing short of prison where innocent students were tortured during the tumultuous period, and he made Nigellus look like a saint in comparison.

However, once the war had ended, he changed completely shedding his old ways like a snake. (No wonder snake is the symbol of the Slytherin house.) He saw to the complete renovation of Hogwarts ─ back to its former glory ─ within two months after the final battle that had left the castle in ruins. He fortified the protection of Hogwarts castle with numerous forbidden magic and wards. Hogwarts now boasts an anti-bullying ward that immediately stops any bullying attacks or activities and records the names of the perpetrators in a parchment in the caretaker's office, and their wands are seized for a week.

As former students of Hogwarts, we know how much such a ward is needed given the constant house fights between Slytherins and Gryffindors. He's not just attempting to put an end to Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry; he is focused on promoting unity among the students of Hogwarts.

Under his term of office, Hogwarts now sorts students into houses only during their fourth year. During the first three years, the students study as a single batch and are given the chance to mingle with each other and develop friendships. It also provides them a chance to develop their abilities and personalities before being sorted into the houses. This new reform is welcomed unanimously by everyone in the magical community.

Furthermore, Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was taught as a theoretical subject matter, is now considered a serious discipline with practical lessons and is currently taught by Remus Lupin. Duel lessons are taught from the fourth year onwards and students are equipped with basic defensive skills in dueling.

Muggle studies have gained prominent importance as it has become a mandatory subject for the first 4 years of Study at Hogwarts. The young wizards and witches are taught the Muggle culture, lifestyle, and practices and how to use the Muggle technology. He has worked along with the Minister for Magic, who had previously served as the head of the Auror department, to make it a mandatory subject for those students who aspire to become Aurors.

Adding to this list of revolutionary changes, a new memorandum has been set up between the St. Mungos and Hogwarts due to his diligent and persistent efforts. This memorandum has led to the inculcation of advanced healing classes in the Hogwarts' curriculum which offers practical-oriented lessons that conducted by the experienced healers of the St. Mungos.

He has also setup a memorandum between Hogwarts and the Ministry. According to the memorandum, the Ministry of Magic will pay an undisclosed amount of money each year for the special services provided by Hogwarts. These services include guided tours of the forbidden forest for the trainees of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and legal procurement of rare items from the forest for the Department of Mysteries. Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, is responsible for giving these guided tours and for procuring the requested items from the forest.

The Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, has confirmed that this money would be used to fund the education of the students of Hogwarts who are from a financially oppressed background.

This close collaboration between the Minister and the Headmaster of Hogwarts comes as a surprise to us because the previous Ministers for Magic were always at odds with Albus Dumbledore. Maybe it stems from their past when both of them worked together in the Order of Phoenix until the estrangement after Albus Dumbledore's death. They joined forces again after the final battle to save the wizarding world from a deteriorating spiral of economic crisis, which was caused by the second wizarding war and infiltration of the ministry.

In what is rumoured to be a coup d'etat between Severus Snape and the goblins (mediated by William 'bill' Weasley), the Lestrange's vault was emptied to renovate both Gringotts and Hogwarts. However, there has been no confirmation or denial of the rumour from the parties involved.

Furthermore, we found out from our recent dig up that it was Severus Snape, who threatened and blackmailed the Malfoy family into parting with their humongous wealth. Although Lucius Malfoy claims that he offered the ninety percent of his wealth towards the restoration of the society in hopes of a better and secular wizarding world, our sources confirm that it was the only deal Severus Snape doled out to Lucius Malfoy in exchange for escaping Azkaban.

Thanks to his strategic planning, underhanded dealing, and Slytherin scheming, our society has recovered from the aftermath of the war and a looming economic crisis in a short period of time. Kingsley Shacklebolt had once said that Severus Snape is a great man who chooses to hide his magnanimous nature beneath dark cloaks. And we agree!

It is no wonder that people regard him as one of the Pillar Four (the other three of the Pillar Four are Bill Weasley, Remus Lupin, and our Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt) for he has served as one of the strong pillars of the wizarding world supporting it in worst times and reviving it back to its current glory.

Coincidentally, he is very close to the other members of the pillar four. How do we know? Well, he has a soiree with the other three during weekends.

He plays wizarding chess with Remus Lupin which usually spans for several hours. If you're wondering what the big deal about wizarding chess is, here's the answer: the one who loses would have to take up certain unwanted chores like catching hold of sneaking teenage couples for that week. From what we hear, he uses every trick in the book (strategy, power play, deceit, trickery, legilimens, diversion, misdirection) to win these games, while Remus Lupin uses his calm and controlled presence to tackle everything thrown at him. So both men give it all they have got to win the match.

He also duels rigorously with our Minister for Magic. It's not a mock duel; it's a fight for the kill. Apparently, both men want to keep their battle instincts alive and kicking and this is how they manage to stay at their peak power.

Well, given his career, discussing and researching about ancient curses and counter-curses with Bill Weasley. For a man whose paramour happens to be dark arts, his weekend rituals do make sense.

Speaking of paramour, he is one of the members of Pillar Four who is still single (the other being our Minister for Magic), while Bill Weasley and Remus Lupin have found marital bliss with their beautiful, accomplished and strong wives.

It is definitely not for the lack of suitors, for there are many queuing up to snag the hero of the hero of the wizarding world - Harry Potter. Although, he is not handsome in the classical sense with his crooked nose and sallow complexion acting as detractors, he does cut an imposing figure with his intimidating and regal demeanour. His intense and soul-sucking onyx eyes, sinfully deep, resonant voice adds to his charm making him sexy in the dark and brooding way.

His post war image has only augmented his chances exponentially. With part of his long black hair (with absolutely no hint of grey) that curtained his face pulled back into a ponytail, he looks classy. The white shirts that he now favours over his precious wardrobe staple, black wizarding robes, highlights masculine physique. He wears his shirt with the sleeves rolled up till his forearm revealing the dark mark on his left forearm having absolutely no reason to hide it anymore.

Was it a conscious image makeover is what we wondered?

However, we recently found out from Horace Slughorn that this is Snape's 'brewing' look. Whenever he enters his potions lab, he pulls back the hair that curtains his face into a small ponytail, ditches his black robes, and rolls up his sleeves till his forearms. "The one place where he is the most relaxed and in his element," Horace Slughorn said. Obviously he chose to adopt this look of relaxed contentment after getting over the stress of playing the double agent for nearly two decades.

This look does make him look ten years younger. No wonder the ladies are going gaga over him. You might think such attentions would please any wizard. Our hero of the month is not just any wizard, is he? He is annoyed with this attention from the fairer sex. From what we hear from his friends, he is tethering close enough to hex "the simpering women" into oblivion if they even get within 10-foot distance of him. Might we add that a Blast-Ended Skrewt is more touchy feely.

So all prospective suitors have now taken refuge in the safe distance beyond the 10-feet radius and are yearning for him to turn and look their way. You would think that such blatant neglect and disregard would dissuade the ladies. However, for some strange reason they seem to be flocking more and more by the numbers.

Perhaps, it has something to do with his back story of how he switched his allegiance from 'dark' to 'light' after the death of his only love in his life so far, Lily potter, to protect the son for whom she had given up her life, despite the fact that she has chosen another man over him. A man capable of such deep and intense feelings is bound to make women yearn that they would be the ones to take his attention from his previous love and have it focused on themselves.

So far, the only woman who has cruised the 'no-women' territory is, of course, Hermione Granger, our golden girl. He seems to notice only her presence amidst the mob of the women that surround him. He acknowledges her as an equal. What is more, she is the only one person who dares to challenge him. Their banter is a source of amusement for their friends. She is the only woman whose company he enjoys and he's the only man she has eyes for and this fact has been witnessed, by almost everyone, in all of the post-war public events and ceremonies.

It seems somewhere amidst the war their relationship has evolved. They're no longer student and teacher, neither are they mere acquaintances. Their relationship has evolved from platonic level to deep and simmering one with passionate undercurrents. Are they already a couple or will they end up as a couple is a question that needs to be answered.

We know for a fact that he played the black knight and rescued her from Bellatrix Lestrange's torture, and she in turn played the guardian angel and saved him from his death during the battle. The details of both incidents are tightly under wraps. But from what we deduced both of them sport the same runes on their arms. One of the unspeakable believes that they might be the runes for a soul binding spell which is long forgotten. However, we are still not able to confirm it.

Nevertheless, we are able to confirm that the wizard has bought quite a luxurious villa, which implies he intends to start a family. Since there's no other women in the foreseeable future for him other than Miss Granger, we believe he would finally settle down much to the disappointment of numerous witches (and wizards who had the hope of snagging Miss Granger). As of now, it is still a hypothesis, for we cannot confirm it from parties involved. Miss Granger always neatly sidesteps questions that pry into her private life, and nobody working for Daily Prophet is insane enough to risk asking Severus Snape about it.


End file.
